John Picacio’s ‘El Mundo’ Loteria card art revealed

SAN ANTONIO — Hugo Award-winning artist John Picacio has unveiled his latest full-color fantasy Loteria card, “El Mundo.” And as its name suggests, it’s just like the San Antonio native to give fans “the world” when it comes to his artwork, especially for something as personal as the Mexican card game he played as a kid. Picacio posted the art Wednesday on his On the Front blog.

“(It’s) a love letter to my daughter,” Picacio said via email, “and a message in a bottle for our lives and times.”

“El Mundo,” which means “the world” in English, should look familiar to those who purchased Picacio’s 2014 John Picacio Calendar. Not only does the calendar feature other Loteria card art for the months of the year, its lucky buyers also got what Picacio calls an exclusive progress version of the “El Mundo” art. Picacio noted on his blog he retained the concept of that version but re-did the art from scratch.

And that “world” will have to do for Loteria fans, at least for now. Picacio also noted on his blog he’s taking a break from his Loteria work to focus on cover art for Dan Simmons’ “Endymion” for Subterranean Press.